Barry O’Mara has helped drive the SPIN Foundation for years.
The SPIN Foundation is known to help the Yass community greatly with its projects and fundraisers, but the leading man, Barry O’Mara has started the new year by handing the wheel to a new President. Barry continues to work with the group, but is moving on as he becomes President of the Yass Lions.
“The Yass Valley Spin Foundation is still very mindful of the fact that the cost of living is extremely high and that people are doing it a bit tough money wise, but we have a few events planned,” he said.
“We’ve got a Mother’s Day luncheon on the weekend prior to Mother’s Day at the Showground in the Round house.
“We also plan to do a Halloween event at the Roundhouse.
“They are the two main events that we have coming up this year. We will throw in a few smaller ones here and there that we are just holding on to at the moment until we see what transpires with interest rate rises and stuff like that and how much we put back out in looking for help from the community.”
Barry said their patient requests are still rising.
“In saying that we also have to be mindful that we need to have a reasonable income in to equal out with the output that we take in and giving to the community.
“We are in process of working with the Yass Valley Aged Care in the purchase of a couple of items they need. Once we get the costing from them we will go ahead and try and help them out where we can.
“Other than that it has been pretty clear sailing. We kept pretty low key at Christmas time. We just had our Apex Christmas stocking which was very good. We raised about $5,000.”
The SPIN Foundation had a float in the street festival which was well received.
“The Yass Valley Spin Foundation has been put at the front of Yass on the sign with all the other services.
“We finally got around to doing that. It has been a bit of a work in progress for the last six months. One left it to another, and another to another, but we got there eventually.
“We are part of the Lions Club and it got updated as well and the Men’s Shed popped one up which was really good, so it just lets people know what service clubs are in town.
“The Apex stocking dates back sixty or eighty years (the Apex Club initiated it). It went into hibernation when the Apex Club folded and then with permission from the Apex Homes Committee, which we have a connection with the Apex Club, they granted us permission to use it and we have been running that now for about five years.
“It’s good to have it back and people just really warm to it. It brings back their childhood memories of their mum and dad buying tickets and hoping that every time they walk past it that they won it.
“It is a very popular raffle and it really sells itself. People come looking for tickets, rather than having to chase people for tickets, which is a bit unusual these days.
“There’s been a little bit of change for the Foundation as I’m no longer the president. I stepped down from that to take on the President of the Lions Club in March, but I am now the Secretary of the SPIN Foundation.”
“We hope to make the Lions Club a lot more community based again like it was in the old days once we get up and running.
“Carly Scanes has taken over the role of President of the Spin Foundation. She has done a really good job so far. She has done President roles in other organisations, so she stepped straight in to the role.”
The community of Yass is richer for having Barry around.
-Jack Murray
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